During the months of May and June, Shelby travelled to the Netherlands and France. In week of May, she competed in her fourth World Team Cup, held in Alphen aan den Rijn, Netherlands. This was also her second year on the USA women’s team. Shelby helped her team place 7th in the world, by competing in matches against Russia and Thailand.

The following week, Shelby flew to Antibes, France to compete. Unfortunately, Shelby lost a tough first-round match against the number one seed and world number 24. Her final score was 3-6, 6-7(2) against Émilie Chéné (FRA). With a quick turnaround, Shelby moved through, and won the consolation. She and her partner also made it to the finals in doubles, but again falling short to the first seeds from France.

Shelby’s results in France brought her up to a career high singles ranking of 54 and doubles ranking of 36 in the world. This summer Shelby will be back on the court training hard, as well as working as a tennis instructor at Punahou School. She will continue competing in the fall.

Shelby had a strong showing at the Pensacola Open this year as she kicked off her 2014 season. After losing to Miho Nijo (JAP), world ranking 13, the week before, Shelby was able pull off a win 7-6(2), 7-6(4).

It was a great 2013, as Shelby ended the year with her highest ITF Women’s Singles ranking at 60. She had a busy and exciting fall playing in the PTR Championships in Hilton Head, South Carolina; the Peace Cup in Hiroshima, Japan; and the Prague Cup in Prague, Czech Republic. Her strong performances at these final tournaments at these final tournaments of 2013 helped to push her ranking up.

Shelby continues to juggle her studies at the University of Hawaii and her tennis training, while squeezing in as many tournaments as her school schedule will allow. She is looking forward to the challenges 2014 will bring.

At the end of May I represented the United States, for the first time, on the Women’s team at the 2013 World Team Cup held in Antalya, Turkey. This year, all of matches were held on clay courts. It was the first time I had played on clay, but after three days of training before the tournament started, I was ready to play some matches.

This year, I was ranked third on the Women’s team so I wasn’t going to see any singles matches. However, I gained some valuable experience from the doubles matches I played. My first match was against the Netherlands. We had lost both of the singles matches so I was put in to play the dead doubles rubber. The Dutch women had won this tournament 25 times before, so it was going to be a difficult match. I got play two top-ten players: Sharon Walraven and Jiske Griffioen (both of them have had a career high singles ranking of second in the world). I played with Kaitlyn Verfeurth and we had absolutely no pressure to win the match. I started off the match strong, and I am very happy with the way I played that day. Unfortunately, we lost 5-7, 4-6. However, that match was a signal that I am getting better and I am getting closer to competing at a top level.

I played on red clay for the first time. What a difference!

My second match was against Luba Josevski and Sarah Calati from Australia. The singles were won—dropping only one game in four sets. My match wasn’t the best match, and Kaitlyn and I were down most of the time. Our goal was to not lose the match by ourselves. In the end we pulled through 7-5, 7-5. We had a day off before our final match and we practiced twice that day to get all the bad shots out of our systems.

Our final day of play was against Chile. We were playing for 9th place, and the singles matches were close. They were won, though, and I was put in to play the doubles one last time. This was my last chance to perform on the trip, so I gave it my all and played my game. This time I played with Emmy Kaiser. Even though I was nervous the first couple of games, we were able to win an easy match 6-2, 6-0.

Representing the US at my third World Team Cup was an extraordinary experience. I am lucky that I got to compete against some of the top players in the world, and I gained a lot of experience from the matches I played. Now that I am back home, I have a lot confidence that I can move forward based on my performance in Turkey.

In the beginning of October, Shelby was honored with the Jim Howe Sportsmanship Girl Award at the Annual USTA (Hawaii Pacific Section) Awards Banquet at the Ala Moana Hotel. The Jim Howe Award is given to one girl and one boy junior player each year who exemplifies admirable sportsmanship qualities both on and off the court.

That night, the banquet honored many individuals who have helped to spread the spirit of tennis throughout the islands. Click here to see view the 2012 Award Recipients. The USTA Hawaii Pacific Section has been very supportive throughout Shelby’s tennis career, and she would not be where she is today without its help.